Bibb Graves

David Bibb Graves (1 April 1873-14 March 1942) was Governor of Alabama from 17 January 1927 to 19 January 1931, succeeding William W. Brandon and preceding Benjamin M. Miller, and again from 4 January 1935 to 17 January 1939, succeeding Miller and preceding Frank M. Dixon. Graves was infamous for being the "Exalted Cyclops" of the Montgomery Ku Klux Klan, using the KKK's influence to be elected.

Biography
David Bibb Graves was born in Hope Hull, Alabama on 1 April 1873, a descendant of Alabama's first governor, William Wyatt Bibb. He was a member of the inaugural Crimson Tide football team of the University of Alabama, and he graduated with a degree in civil engineering in 1893. Graves served in the 1st Alabama Cavalry during the Mexican Revolution and led the 117th US Field Artillery in France as a colonel during World War I, organizing Alabama's section of the American Legion on his return to Alabama. He became the Exalted Cyclops of the Montgomery chapter of the Ku Klux Klan during the 1920s, and he was elected Governor of Alabama with their assistance in 1926, joining the US Democratic Party. He abolished the leasing of prison labor to private interests, and he raised taxes on major companies in the state. He also earned a reputation as one of the most progressive governors in the American South, supporting the New Deal reforms. In 1928, he resigned from the Klan, and he left office in 1931. From 1935 to 1939, he served another term as Governor, and he was preparing another campaign when he died in Sarasota, Florida in 1942.